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Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, folk, soul,
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
, and
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
, and he is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances, and activism. He has released twelve studio albums, mostly through
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
, and has toured internationally. Harper is a three-time
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
winner and seven-time nominee, with awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album in 2004 and Best Blues Album in 2013. At the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony, Harper's joint composition with Charlie Musselwhite, "No Mercy in This Land", was named Song of the Year.


Early life

Harper was born in
Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...
. His late father, Leonard Harper, was of African-American ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Harper Verdries ( Chase), is
Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish. His maternal great-grandmother was a Russian- Lithuanian Jew. His parents divorced when he was five years old, and he grew up with his mother's family. Harper has two younger brothers, Joel and Peter Harper. Harper began playing guitar as a child. His maternal grandparents' music store, the Folk Music Center and Museum (Claremont, CA), laid a foundation of folk and blues for the artist, complemented by regular patrons
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
,
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
, John Darnielle, and David Lindley and quotes of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and Robert Frost made often by his grandfather.Appleford, Steve. "I'll Rise: The Music and Message of Ben Harper" Page 5. Essay published in th
Ben Harper CD Box Collection
Released April 6 , 2000.
In 1978, at the age of 9, Harper attended
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
's performance in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
, where Marley was joined by former bandmate Peter Tosh for the encore. It was, according to Harper, an important influence.


Career

At the age of twelve, Harper played his first gig. During the 1980s, in his teen years, Harper began to play the slide guitar, mimicking the style of Robert Johnson. Harper refined his style, taking up the Weissenborn slide guitar. Harper was offered an invitation by
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
to tour with the artist. They recorded Taj Mahal's album '' Follow the Drinking Gourd'', released in November 1990, and toured Hawaii. In 1992, Harper recorded the LP ''Pleasure and Pain'' with folk multi-instrumentalist Tom Freund. After this limited-edition record, Harper secured a lifetime record deal with
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
. In 1993, he toured venues in California and France with his band, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, and performed with Taj Majal at
Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...
. In 1994, Harper released his debut album, '' Welcome to the Cruel World'' and toured the US and Canada with the Innocent Criminals. In November of the same year, he performed two solo shows in Spain. He released his second album, '' Fight For Your Mind'', in 1995, with Juan Nelson on bass, which became a college radio favorite and included several songs that Harper has played live throughout his career. The same year, the band expanded their reach to Europe and performed in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Canada, and a handful of US dates. His music received a great deal of airplay and critical acclaim in Europe and was widely played in Australia (first on Triple J radio). In 1999, at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Harper met Jack Johnson and sent a demo tape of Johnson's songs to his producer, J. P. Plunier, who then produced Johnson's first album, '' Brushfire Fairytales'', in December 2000. Jack Johnson became the opening act in late February 2001 for the last 23 cities of Ben Harper's “Innocent Criminals” tour of the United States. In 2002, Harper was one of the featured singers covering Motown hits by
Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
in the documentary, '' Standing in the Shadows of Motown'' (a history of
The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...
). Harper was featured on the album ''True Love'' by Toots and the Maytals, which won the
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
,
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
,
Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
, Trey Anastasio, Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, Bonnie Raitt, Manu Chao, The Roots, Ryan Adams, Keith Richards, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson, Ken Boothe, and
The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including "Guns of Navarone (song), Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Bus ...
. In 2003, Harper was French ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's Artist of the Year (''Artiste De L'Année''), and his Australian tour that year for '' Diamonds on the Inside'' was highly successful with record sales. On April 3, 2004, Harper and Jack Johnson performed with Toots and the Maytals on ''Saturday Night Live'' (season 29, episode 16), a show hosted by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. In October 2004, Harper participated in the Vote for Change concert tour organized to benefit Moveon.org and encourage people in the swing states to vote during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. In the same month, Harper contributed a live recording of the song "Oppression" to '' For The Lady'', a benefit album for jailed
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
winner and Burmese pro-democracy advocate
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...
. In 2006, Harper released the double album '' Both Sides of the Gun'' which debuted at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Though uncredited, he appears briefly in the 2006 David Lynch film '' Inland Empire'', alongside his wife Laura Dern. Harper is part of the No Nukes group, which is against the expansion of
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
. In 2007 the group recorded a music video of a version of the Buffalo Springfield song " For What It's Worth". Harper's collaboration "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" with Brazilian singer Vanessa da Mata peaked at #1 in Brazil and Portugal. In Brazil it also won a highly coveted Prêmio Multishow for "Best Song" in 2008. Also in 2008, Harper participated in the benefit album '' Songs for Tibet''. On August 27, 2010, it was reported that Harper had formed a band called Fistful of Mercy with Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur. Fistful of Mercy released their debut record, ''As I Call You Down'', on October 5, 2010. On May 17, 2011, Harper's official site posted that his next album was released, entitled '' Give Till It's Gone''. The album is a continuation of recording with Relentless7. On October 1, 2012, an album from Harper with Charlie Musselwhite was announced titled '' Get Up!'' on Stax Records / Concord Music Group. The official release date for the album was January 29, 2013. ''Get Up!'' was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Harper. It is Harper's 12th studio album and first recording since 2011's ''Give Till It's Gone'' (Virgin). In December 2012, it was announced that Harper had co-produced lead vocalist Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks first solo rock album ''
Mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...
''. It was released on May 7, 2013. In early 2015, it was announced that Harper and the Innocent Criminals would perform at the Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2015. Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals performed at Rock Werchter Festival 2015 on June 28, 2015. On February 12, 2016, Harper released (as a YouTube video) the single "Call It What It Is", the first track taken from his studio album '' Call It What It Is'', released on April 8, 2016. On April 8, 2019, Harper performed as a guest artist on the seventeenth season of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' during the second night of the “Top 20 Duets” episode. Harper sang with contestant Alejandro Aranda, playing " There Will Be a Light". At the 40th Blues Music Awards ceremony, Harper's joint composition with Charlie Musselwhite, "No Mercy In This Land", was named as 'Song of the Year'. On March 20, 2019, Mavis Staples announced the album '' We Get By'', featuring eleven tracks written and produced by Harper. The title track, which features Harper on vocals and in the music video, was released on May 15, 2019. In 2020 Harper released '' Winter Is for Lovers'', an album recorded with solo Monteleone lap steel songs. "It started out as an exploration of steel guitar," Harper told ''Acoustic Guitar'' magazine in a 2020 interview, "''Winter Is for Lovers'' is written as one piece of music; let's define that in the way that the old classical guitarists would have, on a single guitar (the Monteleone lap steel)." On June 9, 2021, Harper's longtime bassist, collaborator, and Innocent Criminals member, Juan Nelson, died at the age 62. Harper paid tribute to him, stating on Twitter: "Beloved husband, father, musical genius, BHIC band member of 27 years, and the finest man I've ever known. It's near impossible for me to put words to this pain and loss. Rest in Glory our beloved Reverend Juan." No cause of death has been confirmed. On July 22, 2022, Harper released the album '' Bloodline Maintenance''. The album is dedicated to the memory of Juan Nelson. On June 2, 2023, Harper released his seventeenth album, '' Wide Open Light''. This is Harper's first album to feature mainly stripped-back acoustic songs with only one track featuring drums. On April 1, 2024, ex-Innocent Criminals guitarist, Michael Ward died at the age of 57 due to complications from diabetes. On May 1st, 2025, Harper released new single, "Before The Rain Dried," in tribute to Ward.


Personal life

In 1996, Harper married his first wife, Joanna. They have two children together. Harper and Joanna separated in 2000, and were divorced in 2001. Harper began dating actress Laura Dern after they met at one of his concerts in fall 2000. Harper and Dern married on December 23, 2005, at their home in Los Angeles. They have two children, son Ellery Walker (born August 2001) and daughter Jaya (born November 2004). In 2006, the pair co-directed the video for his song "Better Way." In October 2010, Harper filed for divorce from Dern, citing irreconcilable differences. They briefly reconciled and attended the 2012 Golden Globe Awards together, but Dern reactivated the divorce by filing a legal response in July 2012. The divorce was finalized in September 2013. Harper married social advocate Jaclyn Matfus, on January 1, 2015. Their son Besso was born in June 2017. Harper is a
skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. Originating in the United Stat ...
who has trained with Rodney Mullen and he also owns a warehouse for his personal skateboarding. Harper co-owns the skateboarding brand Roller Horror with professional skateboarder Mike York. In September 2016, Harper appeared on ''The Nine Club'' skateboard podcast, hosted by Chris Roberts, where he discussed his relationship and history with skateboarding. On ''The Nine Club'', he also reveals that he went to school and began skateboarding with Chris Miller in
Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...
. Harper's cousin is Washington State Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez.


Philanthropy

Harper supports Little Kids Rock, a national nonprofit organization that works to restore and revitalize music education in disadvantaged U.S. public schools. In 2013, he donated items to their San Francisco Bay Area benefit concert. On December 11, 2016, he played an acoustic benefit concert at Bimbos in San Francisco supporting New Light India's "Boys Home Project". Founded in 2000 by Urmi Basu, New Light India provides shelter, educational opportunities, recreational facilities, healthcare and legal aid for the girls and women in Kalighat, notorious for its red light district. Harper and his wife, Jaclyn, have been long-time supporters of International Medical Corps’ work around the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they supported the organization's work in California, and Harper recorded a song to benefit International Medical Corps’ global relief efforts.


Legacy

A dead-end street has been named after Ben Harper in Saint-Jean-d'Heurs, a rural commune of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.https://adresse.data.gouv.fr/carte-base-adresse-nationale?id=63364_52cezi#45.819650_3.454950_16.18


Awards and nominations


Discography

Studio albums * '' Welcome to the Cruel World'' (1994) * '' Fight for Your Mind'' (1995) * '' The Will to Live'' (1997) * '' Burn to Shine'' (with The Innocent Criminals) (1999) * '' Diamonds on the Inside'' (2003) * '' There Will Be a Light'' (with The Blind Boys of Alabama) (2004) * '' Both Sides of the Gun'' (2006) * '' Lifeline'' (with The Innocent Criminals) (2007) * '' White Lies for Dark Times'' (with Relentless7) (2009) * '' Give Till It's Gone'' (2011) * '' Get Up!'' (with Charlie Musselwhite) (2013) * '' Childhood Home'' (with Ellen Harper) (2014) * '' Call It What It Is'' (with The Innocent Criminals) (2016) * '' No Mercy in This Land'' (with Charlie Musselwhite) (2018) * '' Winter Is for Lovers'' (2020) * '' Bloodline Maintenance'' (2022) * '' Wide Open Light'' (2023)


Filmography


References


External links

*
Official Ben Harper shop
* *
Ben Harper at RollingStone.com
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Ben 1969 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American guitarists African-American guitarists African-American Jews African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters African-American record producers African-American rock musicians American blues guitarists American blues singers American folk guitarists American folk singers American male guitarists American multi-instrumentalists American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Dern family American fingerstyle guitarists Fistful of Mercy members Grammy Award winners Guitarists from California Jewish American musicians Real World Records artists Record producers from California Singer-songwriters from California American slide guitarists Steel guitarists Virgin Records artists Weissenborn players